Gemini Observatory: Exploring the Universe, Sharing its Wonders

Women Astronomers Succeed at Gemini

January 7, 2010

Gemini’s Bernadette Rodgers, Inger Jorgensen, Michelle Edwards, and Gelys Trancho shared details about Gemini’s success in gender equality in their poster: “Women Astronomers at Gemini: A Success Story,” which they presented on Tuesday, January 5th at the 215th meeting of the American Astronomical Society.

The poster compares the percentage of Gemini Ph.D. scientists to that of the US average between 2006-2008 and finds that Gemini recruited 31% female astronomers compared with only 13.9% for the United States overall. Even more impressive is the gender equity in Gemini’s science management team which is 75% female with a 50% gender balance (currently) in directorate-level positions. The authors also find that the positive gender balance attracts a high level of female applicants for science staff positions and has resulted in significantly higher retention for female vs. male science staff with 88% retention for females compared with 64% for males over the same period. Compared with other astronomical research facilities, Gemini gender balance compares exceptionally well and has set a standard for our field.

Finally, the authors conclude that there remains a significant problem in recruiting female engineers at Gemini where the percentage of female engineers is at 4.3%, compared with 7.5% in the United States overall.

The Gemini Observatory is an international collaboration with two identical 8-meter telescopes. The Frederick C. Gillett Gemini Telescope is located on Mauna Kea, Hawai'i (Gemini North) and the other telescope on Cerro Pachón in central Chile (Gemini South); together the twin telescopes provide full coverage over both hemispheres of the sky. The telescopes incorporate technologies that allow large, relatively thin mirrors, under active control, to collect and focus both visible and infrared radiation from space.

The Gemini Observatory provides the astronomical communities in six partner countries with state-of-the-art astronomical facilities that allocate observing time in proportion to each country's contribution. In addition to financial support, each country also contributes significant scientific and technical resources. The national research agencies that form the Gemini partnership include: the US National Science Foundation (NSF), the Canadian National Research Council (NRC), the Chilean Comisión Nacional de Investigación Cientifica y Tecnológica (CONICYT), the Australian Research Council (ARC), the Argentinean Ministerio de Ciencia, Tecnología e Innovación Productiva, and the Brazilian Ministério da Ciência, Tecnologia e Inovação. The observatory is managed by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy, Inc. (AURA) under a cooperative agreement with the NSF. The NSF also serves as the executive agency for the international partnership.